The Newcastle season ticket problem - 50,000 waiting list, lock out and Mike Ashley error
It's like going back in time when you talk about getting a season ticket at Newcastle United - quite simply they're like hen's teeth again on Tyneside.
Long gone are the days in the bleak early 1990s when fans could order a pint in the Strawberry Pub at 2.45pm and still be stood in a prime spot on the Gallowgate End in good time for kick off. Kevin Keegan changed all of that of course in 1992 when his arrival resulted in supporters being locked out and club review on ticketing.
Later that year games became all ticket affairs as season tickets were snapped up with enthusiasm around the four corners of St James' Park. The addition of the Leazes End in summer 1993 would see a big chunk of new season ticket holders housed for the start of the Premier League era in Toon.
With the clamour for tickets becoming evident, club officials then issued "half-season tickets" for fans in the soon-to-be demolished Gallowgate End. And even as construction continued behind them, half of the terrace was left open in 1994 as Keegan's side romped to third place.
Soon those half-season ticket holders would become fully fledged members of the fanbase as the new impressive Gallowgate End - or the Exhibition Stand as it was known - shot up into the city skyline. The two corners of the ground of the Gallowgate End would be filled in during 1995 and the impressive arena, dubbed the "Cathedral on the Hill" by some poetic observers, was complete.
With the capacity at 36,610 though, and Newcastle now serious contenders, the stadium still wasn't big enough.
Then director and future chairman Freddy Shepherd pushed for a bigger capacity as season ticket waiting lists stretched to 20,000. It would see St James' pushed up to the 52,350 capacity we know today but that's where it stopped.
For all the controversy over Mike Ashley's tenure on Tyneside, the fact is fans voted with their feet and one by one, those same season tickets that were snapped up with excitement in the 1990s, and many loyal fans beforehand, were given up.
It left Ashley in a situation in which he wanted his cake and he wanted to eat it, basically, he wanted to serve up team cobbled together on the cheap but still wanted to enjoy the electric atmospheres of yesteryear and of course the lucrative rewards of full houses.
And if you needed another reminder that Ashley had zero self-awareness, he also wanted to advertise Sports Direct for next to nothing at St James'! It wasn't happening in the eyes of the fans.
The end result? Over 10,000 empty seats at a ground that was once thriving and regarded in the "top three of the Premier League and the top 10 of Europe" in the words of Sir John Hall.
But by 2019, and after years of decline, Ashley sent out Steve Bruce to do the talking to address the dwindling crowds. With Bruce going nowhere on a long contract under Ashley, he irked fans when saying: "To be fair to the club, they’ve come up with this idea, which is fantastic for truly loyal supporters of the club at this particularly hard time.
"We want a full St James’s Park. We know what it’s like when it’s full. When it’s full, it can be a pretty intimidating place. I think it’s a wonderful gesture from the club and also a big reward for the truly loyal support that we’ve got. At this particular time of year it’s tough for people to go to a football match with Christmas coming up. It’s a wonderful gesture. Well done to the ticket office as well, who I think are inundated.
"We still got the best part of 43,000 (against Southampton last weekend), quite a remarkable crowd. It’s something that we’ve tried to address. It’s something the club has thought about, and the gesture is terrific. I’m glad we can have a full St James’s Park, because that’s what it’s about. Hopefully, we can thrive off that support."
The stay away fans weren't walking off because of finances though, they were sick to the back teeth of Ashley and then Bruce. There are friends of season ticket holders that were so fed up they invested in golf memberships or the non-league game, former Sunderland boss and ex-Man United skipper Bruce had been the final straw for many.
But by 2021, when the takeover was through, they found themselves locked out and never to return. The Saudi-led takeover changed the landscape again and while some of those 10,000 free season ticket holders were suddenly in a great position, with fees to pay of course, the club was heading in the same direction as the 1990s and early 2000s again.
The scramble for tickets in 2021 after the takeover was fierce but Newcastle did release 1,000 more to fans. The phonelines would be jammed at the ticket office as fans began to dream again. But that was it, and if you are a Newcastle season ticket holder now, you are deemed lucky by those who can't get in to see Eddie Howe's side. There are only two ways in now for supporters keen to see their team but there are no guarantees.
Fans can pay £37 to become a member and go into a ballot with varying results, some claim to get lucky frequently, others say they are yet to strike gold. If the list of members is deemed as the new potential waiting list for season tickets, it currently stretches beyond 50,000 people on top of the club's capacity.
The other way "in" to St James' Park is the expensive route with a range of corporate packages available. Fans can be wined and dined from prices ranging between £325 to £624 per game in the "posh seats".
Read more: Premier League clubs could face action over ticket prices if fans are no longer valued
Fans can even enjoy lunch and champagne in a skyscraper before walking up to the ground, but of course it comes with a price! The only way the problem can be resolved is simple.
It was Freddy Shepherd who once spoke about St James' Park having a "price for every pocket" and ensuring families watched the game together so that each generation could pass down the tradition of coming to St James'. Yet with a capacity of just over 52,000 and corporate seats to fill, the average Newcastle fan is essentially priced out of the game we all love.
And Newcastle chiefs are acutely aware of the problem, hence the feasibility report. CEO Darren Eales said last year: "How do we bring them into the special club that is Newcastle United or bring them into the Geordie nation when they may never come to St James' Park?
"The season ticket waiting list is a great example of something that we should inbound to the fan advisory board. It might be a question that gets put on to the feasibility study."
And that question was posed, with the club now pondering the next move, stay or go when it comes to St James' Park. If they do stay what can the capacity be?
What does it need to be? Some say 65,000 would be fine, others believe that 80,000 could be filled. Either way it would be a nice problem to have but one thing is clear, if the product on the pitch is good enough and the ambition of Newcastle is high enough, there will always be demand and a waiting list of some sort.